12 officers of SFC suspended for supplying substandard food grains to PDS shops

Patna: The department of food and consumer protection (DoFCP) on Saturday suspended 12 officials of the state food corporation (SFC) on charges of supplying poor-quality food grains to certain shops under the public distribution system (PDS), an official said.The suspended officials include six assistant managers and six quality controllers of the SFC. These officials were suspended after they were found guilty during a departmental inquiry, the official said.Earlier on Friday, the department had suspended six supply inspectors. “The DoFCP is currently conducting an inspection campaign across the state under the 'Zero Office Day' initiative to ensure the quality, quantity, and timely availability of food grains in the public distribution system (PDS) shops.“So far, inspections have been completed in 49,209 out of a total of 53,869 PDS shops in the state. Based on complaints regarding the quantity, quality, and timely availability of food grains, a total of 10,735 PDS shops have been issued show-cause notices. FIR was registered against a total of 108 shops and their owners, while the licences of 178 PDS shops were revoked,” a departmental official told TOI.